Summary: 

In response to World Health Assembly Resolution 67.23, WHO conducted an initial global survey in 2015 to assess the status of health technology assessment (HTA) in Member States. In 2020 and 2021, WHO launched a second round of the survey to provide an update on the HTA situation and look at related decision-making processes at the global level. The second survey also included an assessment of the characteristics and contents of the countries’ largest public-sector health-benefit packages (HBPs)1,2. The survey results provide an understanding of the landscape of the inclusion of cancer care along the path to universal health coverage (UHC). An analysis of the country responses to the 2020–2021 survey was conducted to determine what countries included in their largest public sector HBPs in terms of types of cancer, screening services, cancer treatments (with particular emphasis on cancer medicines), and palliative and survivorship care. Responses were grouped geographically under WHO regions and World Bank income groups and analyzed to evaluate policy coherence and service prioritization.